Telstra shares near $5 mark

Telstra shares finished within a breadth of breaking the $5 barrier on Tuesday, the highest level in almost eight years. It is one of the best-performing blue-chip stocks on the ASX so far this year.

The telco's shares have surged 11 per cent since the Coalition announced its plan to build a cheaper version of the national broadband network. Most important for Telstra investors, the Coalition promised Telstra was still in line to receive an $11 billion windfall for disconnecting its copper network.

The telco's performance looks even stronger over nearly two years. Its shares hit a historic low of $2.56 in mid-November 2010, but closed at $4.98 on Tuesday - an increase of 94 per cent for those who caught the stock at the bottom.

The surge comes as Telstra is expected to unveil its much-anticipated 4G subscribers number on Wednesday. In a flat mobile market, Telstra is the only carrier making headway in signing up new subscribers.

Investors are flocking to Telstra shares as a safe haven given recent volatility in equity markets and especially after the dramatic collapse of the gold price. Some analysts say many are buying Telstra shares as a proxy high-yielding bond.

Indeed, shareholders are attracted to Telstra's steady flow of dividends, now 28¢ a share.